Cybertraps for Educators: Digest #2021-11-22
Highlights from the week of November 15 - 21, 2021
In this week’s issue:
Transphobic Comments on Facebook
Use of Facebook for Grooming
Unintended Voicemail
Educator Crowdfunding
Password Security
Oversharing on Social Media by Teacher’s Boyfriend
The Risks of Unmonitored Teacher-Student Communications
Collection of Derogatory Information about Parents
Responding to Racist Videos by Students
Last Week’s Episodes of “The Cybertraps Podcast”
TCP Episode #95 — Benefits of Clearinghouse with Nancy Pugliese
TCP Episode #94 — It’s 10 PM. Do You Know What App Your Student Is Using?
You can subscribe to "The Cybertraps Podcast" on Apple Podcast or on your podcast player of preference.
Transphobic Facebook Posts Cost Florida Teacher Three Days’ Pay
Administrative Law Judge Lowers Suspension by Two Days
In 2019, Florida math teacher Thomas Caggiano received an email from a student asking that he use her preferred name and pronouns, which were different from what was listed in the class roster. Caggiano refused, saying that “pronouns are not a negotiable thing for me.”
The school’s principal, Saryn Hatcher, spoke to Caggiano and told him that his position was in violation of school policy. Hatcher also set up an “All-In” inclusivity training for all of the teachers in the school, including Caggiano.
According to a subsequent investigation by the Florida Times-Union, however, Caggiano subsequently posted, shared, or commented on several anti-transgender stories and memes on his Facebook account. In December 2020, he was suspended without pay for five days and ordered to take a course on Cultural Diversity. He appealed the Board’s action to an administrative law judge.
Caggiano told the judge he was not aware that his profile was public and viewable by students when he wrote the posts. The attorney representing Caggiano, Kelly Mathis, said he was disappointed in this week's ruling and plans to appeal.
"A teacher to post certain things on their private Facebook account seems to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution," Mathis said. "Apparently the administrative law judge did not see it that way."
Administrative Law Judge Robert Taylor recommended that the suspension be reduced to three days but upheld the Cultural Diversity course requirement. A complete copy of Judge Taylor’s decision is available on Cybertraps.com.
C4E Issue(s):
The First Amendment Rights of Educators. Educators, like other public employees, do have First Amendment rights and are certainly entitled to their opinions. However, federal courts (including SCOTUS) have made it clear that public school districts can impose discipline for comments that violate policies, cause a disruption in the classroom, or otherwise lessen the ability of the employee to effectively function. All of those factors were present in this case. (Educators should also keep in mind that non-public schools generally have greater latitude to penalize offensive comments.)
Facebook and Privacy. If a social media service has privacy settings, it is NOT private. In fact, the very concept of a private social media account is an oxymoron. Even if Caggiano did limit access to his Facebook feed to “Friends” or the more restrictive “Specific Friends,” any one of those people could easily copy and report his activity. All too often, when people say their Facebook account is “private,” what they really mean is that they are sharing content with people who they think will agree with everything they post. Most of these types of incidents arise because that is not true.
Claire Heddles, “Judge recommends lighter punishment for teacher's transphobic Facebook posts,” WJCT, November 19, 2021 [ last accessed on 20 November 2021 at https://news.wjct.org/first-coast/2021-11-19/judge-recommends-lighter-punishment-for-duval-teachers-transphobic-facebook-posts ].
Emily Boch, “Jacksonville teacher who sparked inclusion training continued posting homophobic memes. Duval Schools says it will investigate.”, Florida Times-Union, May 21, 2020 [ last accessed on 21 November 2021 at https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2020/05/21/jacksonville-teacher-who-sparked-inclusion-training-continued-posting-homophobic-memes-duval-schools-says-it-will-investigate/41750323/ ].
Irish Teacher Given 30-Year Ban for Using Facebook to Groom 13-Year-Old Student
28-Year-Old Teacher Initially Posed as an 18-Year-Old
Secondary school teacher Cian Cooney, 36, of Ballymahon, County Longford (in north-central Ireland) was struck from the teaching rolls in Ireland for 30 years for sexual exploitation of a female student. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for repeated assault of a child under 15. A disciplinary committee convened to assess his fitness for teaching determined that Cooney used social media to initiate the grooming process.
The court heard that Cooney groomed the girl by sending her a friend request under an alias on Facebook during the summer of 2013. When they later met, he told her he was 18 but was in fact 28 at the time.
While the meetings stopped at the end of 2013, he resumed contact in 2015. His real identity was eventually revealed by the girl and her parents using social media. The victim, in a statement read out in court, said she had blamed herself and had been “through hell” . During the court case, it emerged that Cooney apologised and offered to pay the her compensation.
C4E Issue(s):
Teachable Moments. Extreme cases like this are very frustrating, because it is not clear that Cooney’s employer could have done anything to stop his predatory behavior. The combination of social media and cellphones (particularly smartphones) makes off-campus and after-hours interactions between teachers and students far too easy. The best approach is for each district and each school to constantly remind each educator of their duty of care to students, their obligation to the school community as a whole, and the potential criminal consequences of solicitation and assault.
Creating A Culture of Cybersafety. A school’s response to an incident like this is critical. All too often, administrators and parents try to avoid discussing incidents like this, often in the mistaken belief that they are protecting the sensibilities of their students. But students are more aware of the risks of online activity (particularly in their school) than most adult may realize. Having an age-appropriate discussion with students about an educator’s misconduct can help students process what happened, give them tools to help protect them online, and encourage them to be more cyberethical in their future online activity. Students and educators should be encouraged to look out for one another and raise concerns if something seems awry.
Carl O’Brien, “Teacher who sexually exploited 13-year-old girl banned for 30 years,” The Irish Times, November 19, 2021 [ last accessed on 21 November 2021 at https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/teacher-who-sexually-exploited-13-year-old-girl-banned-for-30-years-1.4733458 ].
Even the Simplest Tech Can Be a Cybertrap
Voice Mail Fashion Review Snares Middle School Principal
Thanks to a technical glitch, a Louisiana mother of a middle school student got an unsolicited review of her fashion choices from school principal Mark Lester.
The director of student services was calling about why the student was late. The phone hit the receiver, but the line didn't disconnect. That's when an honest conversation was left on the parent's phone about what the principal thought of her.
"She was the lady that used to come to all the games and events with low-cut stuff. Beach blonde, high heels, she looks like a stripper... The momma," Principal Mark Lester was heard saying in that recording.
West Feliciana Parish School Superintendent Hollis Milton spoke to the principal and apologized to the parent, but the woman says she is still waiting for an apology directly from the principal.
C4E Issue(s):
Slow Down, Reflect, and Double-Check. One of the chief consequences of technology has been to relentlessly speed up the pace of our lives. As a result, we all are more likely to make careless mistakes, like not properly hanging up a phone or clicking “Send” on a thoughtless message. A significant percentage of cybertraps could be avoided if each of us slowed down a little and put just a bit more thought into our use of technology.
Cameras and Microphones Are Everywhere. Voicemails have been used as evidence for decades, so this incident is not particularly novel. Nonetheless, it is a great reminder that there are an endless number of ways in which actions and words can be recorded. We all should act accordingly.
Chris Nakamoto, “Principal says parent 'looks like a stripper' in salacious voicemail left by accident,” WBRZ, November 19, 2021 [ last accessed on 20 November 2021 at https://www.wbrz.com/news/principal-says-parent-looks-like-a-stripper-in-salacious-voicemail-left-by-accident/ ].
Educator Crowdfunding
Can teachers cause problems for districts by setting up donation drives?
On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the school board for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (which encompasses the western part of New Orleans and points south) approved a new policy regulating “Crowdfunding for Educational Purposes.” (A copy of the policy is available on Cybertraps.com.)
An article describing the proposal for new regulations said that Jefferson Parish teachers have raised “more than $2 million since 2007.” In 2021, the site DonorsChoose.com alone has brought in more than $170,000.
But the process, which has gone unregulated until now, has some administrators worrying that it could open the school system to legal problems, especially around issues of student privacy and possible misuse of funds. Those administrators have asked the Jefferson Parish School Board to adopt a new policy [Thursday] night that put a formal process in place.
DonorsChoose is not named in the new policy, but it has been the most popular website for teachers to use because it is specifically geared toward education. The proposed policy would allow other crowdfunding websites to be used as long as the projects met the criteria.
The primary features of the new regulations are a requirement for prior written approval by an administrator and an explicit acknowledgment that any funds raised are the property of the school and are subject to accounting and audits.
C4E Issue(s):
Student Privacy. There are a number of federal laws that govern the handling of child data, both generally and specifically as students. Schools and individual educators can incur serious liability if they mishandle or misuse confidential student information. Close attention should be paid not only to how data is collected and how it is used but also whether a particular service creates the potential for unintended disclosure of personal information (even with the best of intentions). For instance, are the particular financial or family circumstances of a child being used to promote a crowdfunding request?
The Need for Consistent District IT. While it can be tempting to use an exciting new app, software program, or online service, educators can unknowingly put their schools and their districts at risk in a variety of different ways (privacy violations, viruses, unauthorized intrusions, inappropriate content, etc.). Although it can be annoying and frustrating to wait for IT or administrative approval, it is important that new electronic resources are appropriately vetted for privacy risks before being deployed in the classroom. It is also important for a school or district to make sure that there is equity in the availability and use of software and online resources. A central clearinghouse for the evaluation, implementation, and use of electronic resources is an important first step to minimizing cybertraps.
Faimon A. Roberts III, “Crowdfunding has been good to Jefferson teachers. But new rules could be coming.,” nola.com, November 17, 2021 [ last accessed on 20 November 2021 at https://www.nola.com/news/education/article_3a343118-46f0-11ec-bcd4-ab05e355091c.html ].
Password Security
Seriously, folks?
Password security firm NordPass has released its annual report on the Top 200 most common passwords and—surprise!—none of the top 10 would take as long as 1 SECOND to crack.
[The report] revealed that 123456 is the most common password globally, and is used by an estimated 103,170,552 users.
123456789 and 12345 are the second and third most popular, with 46,027,530 and 32,955,431 respectively.
Other popular passwords in the top 10 list included qwerty, password and 111111.
C4E Issue(s):
Cybersecurity. Poor password security is the leading cause of unauthorized access into school devices and networks. Districts and schools should educate the entire school community on the importance of strong passwords and use digital tools to enforce password policies.
Privacy. Unauthorized access to district or school resources creates of a substantial risk that personally identifying information will be stolen, potentially leading to identity theft, financial fraud, and other crimes.
Ryan Morrison, “Will we EVER learn? '123456' and 'password' are still among the most popular passwords in the world – while many users continue to use their own name, report reveals,” Daily Mail, November 17, 2021 [ last accessed on 18 November 2021 at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10209349/Passwords-123456-password-popular.html ].
Was I Not Supposed to Post Those?
Boyfriend Trashes Girlfriend’s Teaching Career by Oversharing
A 25-year-old Welsh teaching assistant landed in hot water with her school administrators after her boyfriend posted photos of their romantic trip to Italy on Facebook.
Ella Griffith, 25, told bosses at Ysgol Cybi primary school in Holyhead, Anglesey, that she needed to take two and a half days off in September last year to deal with 'a serious matter at home'.
It came just days after the start of the new term following a long period of disruption due to Covid-19.
But Miss Griffith was apparently caught out when her boyfriend posted pictures of them online at the Colosseum, Vatican City and the Forum during a romantic break in Italy.
C4E Issue(s):
General Employee Honesty. Obviously, it’s not a good idea to lie to your headteacher about your need for “compassionate leave” and then use that time to lounge in a hot tub in Rome. It’s an even a less-good idea to lie about where you’ve gone and for how long.
The Perils of Social Media in Relationships. Presumably, Ms. Griffith knew that she should not post photos of her illicit vacation on Facebook but she clearly overlooked the need to have that conversation with her boyfriend. (Are they still together? The article does not say.) As Voltaire allegedly once said, “Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.”
Don’t Count on Your “Friends” to Keep Quiet. The Facebook photos were reported to the headteacher at Ms. Griffith’s school by some of her colleagues, who presumably were Facebook “friends” with her boyfriend (which means they could see everything he posted). However, if he tagged Ms. Griffith in his photos, then the photos may have appeared directly in her feed, depending on her privacy settings. If you haven’t checked your privacy settings for photo tagging on Facebook recently, you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/help/454185581308206.
Stewart Carr, “Teaching assistant, 25, who faked compassionate leave but was caught when her boyfriend posted Facebook pictures of their holiday in Rome, faces being struck off,” Daily Mail, November 17, 2021 [ last accessed on 19 November 2021 at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10212247/Teaching-assistant-25-faked-compassionate-leave-caught-boyfriend-posted-Facebook-pictures.html ].
Text Messages Lead to 15-Month Affair Between Teacher and Student
Educator Asks Colleagues to Create Fake Adult Assistant to Hide Affair from Husband
The head of science and maths at a school in Darlington, County Durham (in northeast England) was convicted of having a fifteen-month affair with a student, beginning when the young woman was 16. Following the trial, Judge Christopher Smith sentenced Aimee Jones, 35, to eight months in prison.
Prosecutor Jon Harley said that Jones first approached the girl - who cannot be named for legal reasons - in early 2020 when she was aged 15.
He said: 'The defendant told her that she was bisexual and that she was having feelings of sexual attraction towards her.
'This made her feel slightly uncomfortable, she did not know how to process that information or what to do with it.
'But in the following weeks and months messages continued between the two, mostly instigated by the defendant.
'It is fair to say they were not characterised as being overtly sexual, they were polite and pleasant but messages that made it clear Mrs Jones was interested in her.'
C4E Issue(s):
The Perils of Direct Teacher-to-Student Communication. As this case illustrates, even relatively innocuous direct communications heighten the risk of inappropriate interactions. It should be standard practice in every school and distract that communications between teachers and students are transparent and archivable.
Attempted Coverups Are Bad and Rarely Work. At some point, Jones’s husband began suspecting that his wife was having an affair. She admitted that she was involved with someone but told him it was an adult colleague at the school. She asked her colleagues and administration (by email!) to pretend that a woman named “Sarah Martin” was employed at the school as a teaching assistant. Later, however, her husband learned that the other person involved was a minor child and he was obligated, due to his own position, to report his wife to authorities.
Stephen Wynn-Davies, “EXCLUSIVE Pictured: The married female maths teacher, 35, jailed for eight months for having sex with a schoolgirl when her social worker husband shopped her to police,” Daily Mail, November 17, 2021 [ last accessed on 19 November 2021 at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10212365/Pictured-married-female-maths-teacher-caught-having-sex-teenage-pupil.html ].
Screen Shot with TMI Sinks Arizona School Board President
Hmmm. Where Does That Link Go?
By a 4-1 vote, the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board decided on Monday, November 15, to remove Jann-Michael Greenberg as Board president and replace him with Board member Patty Beckman, who will serve as interim president pending further action by the Board.
The action comes in the wake of a discovery by district parents that Greenberg was allegedly maintaining “dossiers” on certain people in the district.
Parents discovered a Google Drive on the computer when Greenburg sent an email to another parent with a screenshot of his computer screen, which had a link to the drive. There, parents say they found personal information, offensive photos and pictures of them and their children. They said they were targeted because they disagreed with the district's COVID-19 policies, such as mask mandates.
The district has hired an independent investigator to examine the contents of the Google Drive, which may have belonged to Greenberg’s father, and to make a preliminary determination as to whether any crimes may have been committed.
C4E Issue(s):
Appearance of Bias or Impropriety. Like educators, school board members have an obligation to treat all members of the school community fairly and equitably. If Greenberg (or a family member) did in fact create folders containing derogatory materials about some members of the public (particularly those who disagree with the Board or the District), then that does seem like a fairly clear violation of a board member’s “obligation to be honest, fair, caring and respectful.”
Look Before You Click! L’affaire Greenberg began when Greenberg got into an online argument (🚩🚩🚩) with one district parent about whether her comments regarding billionaire George Soros were anti-Semitic. To back up his contention, he included a screenshot of her social media posts that he previously had saved. The screenshot, however, also included the URL of the Google Drive in which Greenberg (or someone else) had saved the copies of the social media posts. With the help of a tech buddy, the parent used the URL to view all of the documents in the Google Drive folder, and identified material relating to at least 47 different people.
Privacy Issues. One of the things that the district is investigating is whether any of the material in the folders constitutes a violation of privacy laws or regulations, such as FERPA or HIPAA. There is a difference, of course, between information that is “personal” and information that is “private.” It may be upsetting to have personal information collected in this fashion but if it has been collected from public sources (such as court dockets or social media feeds), regardless of how embarrassing, then there is probably no legal violation. However, if the information is subject to legal or regulatory protection, then that’s another matter.
Possible Criminal Violations. There has been some speculation that the creation and maintenance of these folders and files may constitute “cyberstalking” or “harassment” as defined by Arizona law. Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-2923 includes the following definition in its list of prohibited conduct:
“Use any electronic, digital or global positioning system device to surveil a specific person or a specific person's internet or wireless activity continuously for twelve hours or more or on two or more occasions over a period of time, however short, without authorization.” [Section 13-2923(D)(1)(a)(ii)]
One key question, however, is whether the creator of these files intended the subjects to know about them. Unless it can be shown that such intent existed, it may be difficult to sustain a charge of harassment or cyberstalking.
David Baker, “Scottsdale school district votes for new president after dossier scandal,” azfamily.com, November 15, 2021 [ last accessed on 19 November 2021 at https://www.azfamily.com/news/arizona_schools/susd-new-president-vote/article_e4e0519e-467f-11ec-b4b6-876927e1845c.html ].
Melissa Rosequist & Terrance Thornton, “The Greenburg files: Is there a file on you?” Daily Independent, November 9, 2021 [ last accessed on 19 November 2021 at https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/the-greenburg-files-is-there-a-file-on-you,270628 ].
Boston-Area Schools Struggles to Respond to Racist Student Videos
Can Administrators and Teachers Reset School Culture?
The production and spread of two racist videos through Quincy (MA) High School (and beyond) has focused a bright light on a recent string of racially-charged incidents in Boston area schools.
The recordings — one a selfie video filled with anti-Black rhetoric, the other a derogatory rap song aimed at a rival football team — are the latest in a series of racist incidents at Boston-area school systems, including Danvers and Braintree. The recordings have circulated widely in the past two weeks and have spurred demands for a broad reassessment of the school’s culture.
“It’s not about punishment and consequences. ... The leadership has to make a commitment to understand the students,” said Kate Campbell, a mother of two Quincy High School students and the co-chair of the city’s parent-teacher organization. “It will be so disheartening to the students if nothing changes after this.”
Quincy Public School administrators have been grappling with demands for significant and identifiable steps aimed at addressing the long-simmering conflicts. QPS Superintendent Kevin Mulvey said that “the two high school students who created the racist recordings could face suspension, expulsion, being placed in alternative educational settings, or some combination of those.” However, he could not tell upset parents exactly what punishments will be (or have been) imposed due to concerns over student confidentiality.
Mulvey told The Boston Globe that while the number of hate incidents has not increased, the severity of the incidents has risen recently. Among the factors he cited: a decline in student emotional and social well-being over the past year; widespread social media use; and re-entry pains following a year-plus of remote learning. The school system, he added, is planning to impose “stronger cellphone restrictions and boost social and emotional learning” in the district high schools.
C4E Issue(s):
Cellphone Use by Students. Schools around the country (around the world, really) are grappling with whether students should be allowed to have cellphones or smartphones in school. Most students and parents are fans, for various reasons ranging from socialization to security. But there is growing evidence that phones can have a negative impact on the educational process and on the social environment in schools.
It is a complicated debate that is not easily resolved. (Jethro Jones and I discussed this in detail in Episode 90 of the Cybertraps Podcast — “Should We Ban Cell Phones in Schools?”) However, one thing seems clear: Since schools cannot limit or restrict the use of devices when students are off-campus, the emphasis should be on how they are used. Put another way, it’s not the technology, it’s the behavior. Obviously, parents bear the primary responsibility for teaching their children values like decency, morality, empathy, and kindness, but schools can and should be active partners in the process.
The Influence of Social Media. We can’t have a conversation about these types of videos without acknowledging the influence of social media on our society in general and our political/racial polarization in particular. The normalization of hate speech by politicians and influencers of various stripes is devastating to our social and communal well-being. It will take a long and concerted effort by educators, civic leaders, and parents to reverse this ugly trend.
Teachable Moments? As painful as they may be, incidents like this offer school communities powerful educational opportunities. Each is a chance to discuss the nature of the speech, how it was created and distributed, and its impact on the intended targets and the community at large. We may not be able to legislate morality but we can teach values and decency.